Weed pulling tool



United States Patent O" 3,525,546 WEED PULLING TOOL Smith E. Lowell, 3164 Mary Drive, Macon, Ga. 31204 Filed Dec. 27, 1968, Ser. No. 787,489 Int. Cl. A01b 1/16 U.S. Cl. 294-503 1 Claim ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A weed pulling tool consists of a straight metal tube having teeth at its open lower end, a top hand grip in which the tube is rotatable, and a hand-operable collar slidable along a mid portion of the tube to rotate the tube through camming action exerted upon a helical slot. A pin secured to the slidable collar extends through the slot to perform the camming function and is secured to an ejecting rod slidable in the tube.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Weed pulling tools of previously known designs have employed hollow tubes toothed at the bottom and designed to be forced into the ground over the crown and root portion of a weed, aided in many instances by means for rotating the tube to assist penetration of soil.

The present invention aims to improve upon the construction and operation of weed pulling tools of the indicated character and to provide such a tool which is low in cost, rugged and reliable in operation, simple and light in weight, which is easy and quick to operate, and which is so designed that a single stroke of a slidable operating handle in one direction causes the tool to remove the weed, and a reverse movement of the handle ejects the weed and prepares the tool for the next weed-removal operation.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent upon consideration of the present disclosure in its entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES' OF THE DRAWING DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED FORM OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawing, reference character designates generally the body of my improved tool, which is formed of a straight length of steel tubing of a convenient length. In my preferred construction the tubular body 10 is approximately tive feet in length, which I have found most convenient from the operative standpoint, for a person of normal height. At its top the body 10 is provided with an outturned flange 12.

A bearing block 14 is tightly fitted in the upper end of the tubular body and has a spherically rounded upper end 15 projecting above the body and providing a thrust bearing for an upper rotary hand grip comprising a cap 16 and a sleeve portion 18 secured thereto. Bearing block 14 is formed of hard wood. The sleeve portion 18 of the upper hand grip assembly is formed of a relatively short pipe section which at its upper end underlies and is held against upward movement by the flange 12. Sleeve portion 18 is secured to the cap section 16 by pipe threads 19. The hand grip assembly is held against axial displacement by the plug 14 coacting with flange 12 and is designed to be held against rotation while the body tube 10 rotates therein.

A helical slot 20 extends radially through the wall of the body tube 10 intermediate the length of the latter, forming part of a camming means for rotating the tube about its longitudinal axis. In my preferred tool the slot is approximately 720 in angular length and 11 inches in axial length, the helix angle is approximately 30 and the upper end of the slot is approximately 15 inches from the upper end of the tool, so that the actuating collar 25 which coacts with the slot is at a convenient height for the operator.

The camming slot 20 is actuated by means of a camming pin 22 extending radially and slidably therethrough and fast in the collar 25 and in the internally slidable wooden ejector rod 26. Camming pin 22 may be a wood screw threaded into rod 26, as shown in FIG. 3.

The ejector rod 26 is of such length that its lower end is approximately flush with the open lower end of body tube 10 when collar 25 is at the lower end of its travel, as shown in FIG. 1.

At its lower extremity the body tube is preferably provided with soil cutting means formed as inclined and sharpened teeth 28 contoured to assist the tool to cut into turf and soil when the tube is rotated about its axis in the direction it turns when the collar 25 is moved upwardly over the body tube.

In operation, the toothed lower end of the tool is placed over the crown of a weed while the slidable collar 25 is at the bottom of its travel. The tool is held down over the weed with one hand by means of the upper grip assembly 16, 18, while the collar 25 is moved upwardly with the other hand. Such upward movement of the collar rotates the tool and causes the lower end of tube 10 to penetrate the soil around the weed, thereby in effect forcing the body and root system of the weed (W in FIG. 4), together .with a plug of soil, S, into the bottom of the tool. Inasmuch as the diameter of the plug is relatively small and the total friction between the plug and the interior of the body tube 10 is relatively high, the tool when pulled from the ground removes the plug and contained weed, and these may be ejected into a suitable receptacle simply by again pushing the collar 25 downwardly so that rod 26 pushes the weed and plug from the lower end. This action, as will be seen, prepares the tool for the next weed removal operation..

It will be noted that in my preferred construction the body tube 10 is relatively long. I have found that this is helpful in using the tool, inasmuch as the forearm of the hand which holds the upper hand grip may then extend upwardly substantially parallel to the body tube 10, making it easy and natural to hold the tool down on the weed with the upper hand while the slidable collar grip 25 is moved upwardly with the lower hand. It is also an easy and natural movement to eject the weed by moving the slidable grip 25 downwardly.

I have found that if the tool is used at an angle to the vertical (e.g., 30) it is more effective in the removal of weeds of the type having a tap root in that the tap root and lateral roots tend to wind up together and there is less cutting of the lateral roots.

This detailed description of preferred form of the invention, and the accompanying drawings, have been furnished in compliance with the statutory requirement to set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out the invention. The prior portions consisting of the Abstract of the Disclosure and the Background of the Invention are furnished without prejudice in an effort to comply with administrative requirements of the Patent Oice.

What is claimed is:

1. A weed pulling tool comprising a straight rigid hollow cylindrical tube having ground penetrating means at its lower end, a top hand grip portion rotatable relatively to the tube, a lower hand grip comprising a collar axially slidable on an intermediate portion of the tube, cam and follower means carried partly by the tube and partly by the collar for turning the tube around its axis when the collar is moved axially along the tube, an ejector rod slidable inside the tube and actuatable by the collar, the cam and follower means comprising a helical slot extending through the wall of the tube and a pin fast in the collar and extending through the slot, the ejector rod being secured to the collar by the pin, the tube being relatively long so that the top hand grip is above elbow height for a normal adult user, the ejector rod being of a length such that the lower ends of the tube and rod are substantially ush when the collar is moved toward the lower end of the tube to the limit of its travel, said ground penetrating means comprising peripheral teeth on the lower end of the tube adapted to enter the ground when the collar is moved upwardly from such lower limit while the tool is urged against the ground by the top hand grip portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 39,151 7/1863 King. 2,030,770 2/1935 Smith. 2,057,142 10/1936 Fry 294-507 X EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner D. D. WATTS, Assistant Examiner 

